And Hell Followed
by TheJollySkeleton
Summary: With the threat of Homeworld looming over the Crystal Gems, Garnet receives a haunting vision from the future and with the sudden appearance of the Doomslayer, the gems have no choice but to accept his help. Rated M for violence and gore.
1. Arrival

There was nothing; nothing but the bleak emptiness in the Doomslayer's mind. He never dreamt nor had he ever slept at all during his time in Hell, except when he was forced into that accursed sarcophagus. After all, the need to slaughter demons took priority over his own luxuries. He wondered what events had transpired to have made him unconscious until he remembered Samuel Hayden's betrayal.

His blood boiled at how he had been used to simply dispose of Olivia Pierce and the rest of the demons who got in his way, just so Samuel Hayden could continue his operations of exploiting Hell's resources. It's a foolish idea to believe anyone can have "free reign" over Hell at all.

And now he is stuck in some unknown location, expected to stay put and wait for Samuel's latest fuck up to bite him in the ass. He looked around in his dark mindscape to find a crossed-legged woman sitting a few feet away from him. The most striking features about her, is how cubed her hair is and her height. She looked to be a lot taller than an average woman would look like and unless the woman in this dimension were as tall as her, she's definitely not human.

He started to walk towards her, fists at the ready, in case she proved to be hostile. But he noticed how she stayed in the same position; as if she didn't know they shared the same space. He took another step forward, when she quickly tilted her head up, looking directly at him. Whatever action was going to happen, was interrupted when the whole place started to white as he began to wake up.

When his eyes finally opened, he didn't expect to be greeted by the warm blue sky nor hear the sound of waves calmly crashing against a shoreline. He slowly got up, taking in the environment around him. He isn't sure if he was remembering correctly or but the absence of mile high, industrial skyscrapers; and various space freighters coming to and from space however, was a sign that something isn't right. There wasn't a single place on Earth that wasn't touched by the rapid industrialization or that wasn't marred by pollution.

Yet, here he is; in a coastal town with technology that dates back centuries ago and practically no pollution of any sort. How was this possible? There's no possible way humanity would simple regress, technology wise. Then it became apparent, he's in a different dimension all together.

Of course.

His heart started to pound faster, breathing became haggard, fists were clenched in a death-like vice, and… his blood boiled.

His vision, clouded in a red haze as he started to ooze rage.

That was until he heard someone talk to directly to him.

"Hi! My name is Steven! I haven't seen you around here. What's your name?"

* * *

 _"Something's wrong."_ Garnet worriedly thought when her future vision started acting up.

Future events were disappearing and new ones were appearing at such a blindingly fast rate, she couldn't concentrate well on them. She needed to meditate in her room to refocus her efforts on her visions. As she made her way to her room, Pearl couldn't help but notice how hurried Garnet is.

"What's wrong, Garnet?" Pearl asked in a concerned voice.

"I.. I just need to clear my head, that's all."

Garnet felt no need to make Pearl panicked yet. For all she knew, this was just a minor fluke with her future vision. Still, the timing couldn't be as impeccable as it is, that it should fail her when Homeworld was sending reinforcements.

"Are you sure you're all-"

"I'm fine." Garnet stoically responded.

As Garnet entered her room, Pearl couldn't help but wonder if there was more to what was currently going on with Garnet. But for now, she respected Garnet's privacy. She guessed it had to do with Lapis's warning about a visitation from Homeworld but could she really blame her? Everyone was stressing about how would they be able to prepare for a possible full-scale invasion when they're painfully outnumbered. And with Garnet apparently shaken about something, she could only guess that it was some future vision about them failing in the most horrible way.

"O-okay, just ask me if you need any help." said Pearl in a soft voice.

Garnet looked back at Pearl and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Alright."

The door closed behind Garnet as she walked to the center of the room. She then sat crossed-legged and cleared her thoughts as she began to meditate.

* * *

For two hours, her efforts at first were fruitless. The visions were still scattered and out of place, but then that changed. Instead of visions telling her about the aftermath of a Homeworld visit, she saw images from a more distant future, horrible images. She saw utter chaos, destruction, and death. She saw beasts not of gem origin but worse. The images became more gruesome and unbearable. Bodies hanged from the limbs of dead trees, free of their skins; buildings on fire and in ruins; and finally, gem ships burning in what used to be a battlefield, littered in the dust of crushed gems. She felt herself become sick from visions not of a war, but a slaughterhouse.

She had enough, the visions were coming back in full force and none of them were pleasant at all. Her head jolted up after she ended her meditation session for good. Ironically, the session left her far more stressed out than she had hoped, her hands were painfully clenched tight, and she was hyperventilating the whole time. She wiped the sweat from her forehead as she got up. However, there was one image stuck in her head, a man dressed in a full suit of green armor who had his hand stretched out towards her.

The door to Garnet's room opened as she briskfully walked out, not wanting to stay in her room for too long. She noticed that Pearl wasn't in the temple anymore.

 _"She must've went to the Sky Arena."_

They decided on increasing the frequency of their training after the warning, to fend off any Homeworld gem who dares on setting foot on Earth. She looked around the temple to find Amethyst lounging on the sofa. Even with the looming threat of Homeworld, Amethyst still manages to look relaxed as though nothing bad would happen.

"Amethyst, where's Steven?" Garnet said as she hadn't seen the boy since this morning.

"He's taking a walk on the beach or something to think." Amethyst lazily replied.

Garnet thanked Amethyst as she walked out of the temple to look for Steven. Lately, he hadn't been his cheerful self ever since the warning. He kept wondering about Lapis's well-being, as well as if they'll be able to repel a Homeworld attack.

 _"He truly cares about her, doesn't he?"_

Garnet thought back to their encounters with Lapis Lazuli and how things could have went a lot better. If they had known it was a gem trapped in that mirror, they would have freed her a lot more sooner. There's also the fact they always antagonized her after Steven freed her, never giving her a chance at all. Still, there's no point in dwelling on what-if's or what-could-have-been's, the past is set and the only thing to focus on is the present and the future.

When she stopped with her musings however. She stopped dead in her tracks. There standing not far away from her, is the man from her meditation session, his armor caked with dried blood and viscera. She could also feel the scornful wrath that is emanating from him, and it felt very sickly. Not only that, but there Steven stood in front of him, trying to talk to him.


	2. A Guy Named Doomguy

The Doomslayer was surprised to see someone, a boy no less, simply walk up to him and try to strike a conversation with him. How does this boy simply walk up to someone he has never met and talk to them as though they've known each other for quite sometime? Regardless, it looks like he's still trying to talk to him.

"Not the talkative type, huh? It's okay! You're probably feeling shy about meeting a new friend!" Steven enthusiastically said to the silent marine.

The Doomslayer stood in place, perplexed by the boy's- What did he say his name was again? Steven? He was still perplexed by Steven's warm reception to him, despite his intimidating appearance. Was this always a natural occurrence to him? Making friends with the least approachable people ever? Whatever, he has other important things to do.

"Wait! Don't go!"

The Doomslayer had walked past Steven and was making his way towards the rest of Beach City when he stopped and turned around, facing Steven.

"I can show you around if you like." Steven said with a tinge of hope in his voice.

The marine mulled over his offer. He was pretty sure the sight of a boy leading a hulking armored giant would attract unneeded attention, but what choice did he really have? He doesn't know the locations and names of everything in this dimension. In the end, he shrugged in acceptance.

"Really? Great!"

Steven grabbed the Doomslayer's hand as he lead him to Greg's carwash.

"First, let's get you cleaned up! That red seaweed doesn't look good on you."

Red seaweed? The marine looked down to notice what Steven meant by 'red seaweed' on his praetor suit. God this kid was so innocent. And you know what? That's fine. Better than witnessing the deaths of millions by the hands of savage beasts who know only hate. Luckily, there's a low chance of that happening here. The technology here hasn't advanced enough to open a portal directly to Hell or to even harvest argent energy.

They arrived at the carwash with only a few glances cast towards them on the way. It was another slow day at the "It's A Wash!" carwash. The only vehicle there was Greg's van, as usual.

"This is my dad's carwash! It's pretty busy most of the time."

Steven looked back at the Doomslayer, gauging his mood. The Doomslayer for the most part, was uninterested. Taking mental note on just the name and location of the place. He did of course made himself look curious, just for Steven.

"Let me just go and get my dad to start the wash."

Steven jogged up to the van doors and started knocking energetically.

"Dad! Wake up! I need you to start the wash!" Steven yelled.

The van doors opened to the sight of Greg holding a waffle iron as a weapon, until he saw it was Steven who woke him.

"Hey Stu-ball! What do ne-"

Greg stopped talking to Steven when he noticed the giant armored man standing behind Steven. His eyes bulged out of his sockets when he noticed that the marine was covered in blood and chunks of flesh.

"Steven get behind me!" Greg yelled as he grabbed Steven by the shoulder and got in front of him, waffle iron held more tensely.

"Wait! Dad! He's my friend!"

Steven got in between his dad and the Doomslayer, with his arms out. The Doomslayer stood there, unaffected by Greg's choice of action, knowing that he wouldn't be a serious threat.

"I just need you to start the wash. I want him clean before I show him around town."

Greg took another look at the Doomslayer, feeling uneasy at the sight of him.

" _Where could have Steven found him?"_ Greg thought.

With a sigh, Greg said "Alright, I'll start the wash. But you have to tell me sometime where you found him."

Stars appeared in Steven's eyes at his dad's (somewhat reluctant) acceptance. Steven wrapped his arms around Greg in a warm hug.

"Thanks dad!"

"Heh, don't mention it." Greg said rubbing the back of his neck.

* * *

Garnet had decided to follow Steven and the mysterious man. Not entirely trusting the man since it seems his arrival coincides with her future vision going out of whack. She jumped rooftop to rooftop, keeping watch on the two in case the man turned out to be hostile.

" _Just what are you planning to do?"_ Garnet thought to herself.

The blood and gore that hanged off of him, was sickening to say the least. The Crystal Gems are no strangers to the history of human warfare. They can be bloody when it comes to fighting since unlike gems, humans actually bleed and they tend to be barbaric in terms of fighting. But this… this was something different. The way he was covered in blood, looked like he fought up close and personal using what appeared to be just his fists. No weapons seem to be on his person. And what she couldn't understand was how were his blows **that** devastating? Humans don't possess the strength for their punches to cause blood to explode outwards. Unless it has something to do with that suit he wears. Most likely.

She saw that they had stopped by at Greg's carwash. Most likely to wash off the mess on the man. Garnet wasn't surprised with Greg's reaction, no doubt the man's appearance was too much for him. Though she did worried there would be an altercation between them. What was surprising, was Steven defending the man and calling him "his friend".

" _Of course, Steven will be Steven. Helping and befriending others, even if it's not appreciated."_ Garnet thought, bitterly at that last part of her thoughts.

Bringing her out from her thoughts, she noticed the three enter inside the control room of the carwash. With a satisfying smile, she got up from her position.

"He'll be fine." She said to herself as she left.

* * *

Greg was at the controls, messing around with the settings to accommodate washing a person. Meanwhile, Steven was chatting with the silent marine.

"So..." Steven drawled. "Do you have a name?"

The Doomslayer pondered over the question. He's been given titles during his time in Hell, but his proper name was lost to him to the sands of time. After a few moments of further thinking, he shook his head.

"WHAT! YOU DON'T HAVE A NAME!" Steven yelled in surprise. "We have to give you a name!"

Steven started brainstorming what name to give to the marine. He looked at the marine, trying to use a physical aspect of him as a name.

"How about.. Greenie? No, that's not right."

Steven kept thinking of a name when he looked back at the Doomslayer. Realization hit Steven when he spoke up again.

"Oh wait, I know!"

Steven fished around his pocket to pull out what appeared to be an action figure who wore a simple green armor and a sci-fi-esque helmet.

"This one of my Guy figures! His name is Doomguy and he is a space marine!" Steven said holding the figure towards the Doomslayer.

The Doomslayer took the figure in his hand and examined it. No doubt, it looked a lot like one of those marine figures he came across. He couldn't understand how there was something a lot similar to him in this dimension. But he guessed it's the same reason why there are marine figures in Hell of all places.

"So.. how about Doomguy then?"

The Doomslayer looked at Steven for a moment before giving a nod and a thumbs up.

"Great!" Steven said enthusiastically and almost went for a hug when Greg stopped him.

"Woah woah. First, we clean him up. Then hugs."

"Aww, dad!"

"I just don't want you to get dirty, that's all."

" _Or have you covered in.. that."_ Greg shuddered at the thought of his son covered in blood from-

"Say, what is his name?" Greg wondered.

"Doomguy."

"Right, right. Well Mr. Doomguy, I'm gonna need you to go through the car entrance." Greg said, pointing at the entrance of the carwash.

Doomguy walked outside and re-entered through the carwash entrance, waiting for something to happen.

"Alright, just walk through the wash and let me do the rest." Greg said.

The mechanical limbs of the carwash roared with life, scrubbers spinning like mad cyclones and jets of water pulsating outwards. The intercom rang out with Greg's voice.

"Now, I will warn you. Things might get.. uncomfortable."

Doomguy didn't exactly get what he meant until he got the receiving end of the water jets. The force of the jets almost made him stumble backwards but he persisted. He walked forward, getting hit by the soapy liquid and practically getting crushed between two scrubbers. Slightly dazed, he continued towards the exit, getting hit by another jet stream and once again, crushed between another set of scrubbers. He stumbled through the exit, very disoriented at this point. His armor now gleamed in the sun, having been dulled by years of blood soakage.

Steven came running out of the carwash to greet the now clean marine.

"Come on, let's go!"

Steven jumped on to Doomguy's back, his hands clutching Doomguy's shoulders. Doomguy didn't expect Steven to immediately tackle him, causing his body to shift forward, but he quickly righted himself up.

"Let's go to the Big Donut!" Steven said, pointing to the direction of the donut shop.

* * *

Lars sat at the front counter, looking displeased with his job as usual. Sadie was currently on break, leaving Lars at the counter by himself. The only upside today was having yet to see Steven. Of course he knows he'll show up eventually, but why not take in the peacefulness of the place without that annoying little brat. He was close to dozing off when he heard the bell by the door went off. He sighed in annoyance.

 _"Great, the little idiot is back."_ Lars thought sourly.

When he looked up, his eyes shot out of his face. There stood a 7 foot hulking man in green armor. While he was used to seeing the Crystal Gems and their usual weirdness, there was something about him that made him different. The gems were more restrained with their presence, having a more approachable appearance. But this guy, he didn't care. He has this powerful presence about him that he never felt from the gems. As if he was badass incarnate. Lars quickly recomposed himself, trying to play it off as cool as he can.

 _"Alright, you got this. Just don't act weird. God why is this so hard?"_

"Hey Lars!"

Lars looked around trying to find the source of Steven's voice until he noticed Steven's head pop out from behind the marine's back.

"Steven! What are you doing here!?" Lars hissed.

"I'm just here to buy some donuts with Doomguy here!" Steven happily replied.

 _"There goes his awesomeness then."_ Lars mentally remarked.

"We'll get two dozen chocolate donuts!"

As Lars got out two bags for the donuts, Steven noticed Sadie's absence.

"Say, where's Sadie? Is she-"

"She's on break." Lars interrupted. He placed the last donut in the bag.

"Oh. Alright!"

Steven handed the money to Lars and grabbed the bags from the counter. As Steven and Doomguy turned to leave, Lars shifted back into boredom. He didn't want to admit it, but he sometimes envies the way Steven seems to be able to enjoy himself no problem.

 _"At least those two seem to be having fun._

* * *

As the two walked away from the Big Donut, Steven hands Doomguy a donut.

"Here have some!"

The marine stares at the donut in his hand before grasping the lower half of his helmet and lifting it, exposing his mouth. He brings the donut to his mouth and takes a bite out of it. The taste was sweet, too sweet. He wasn't used to eating processed food before and he kept a mental note to avoid anymore. He reluctantly finished the rest of the donut, despite being unsavory to him, it was better than nothing and that was something he had for centuries.

The two explored the rest of Beach City for the rest of the afternoon. The whole time, Doomguy felt uncomfortable. He was used to fighting constantly and now he isn't. Instead, here he is with a young boy wandering around a town. Is this what he would need to get used to? Peace? No. He'll find a way back to his dimension and feel right at home, slaughtering waves of demons with no care in the world.

The sun was already setting and almost everyone was in there homes. Steven let out a yawn and checked his watch.

"Well, it's almost my bedtime. I have to go. See ya!"

Steven turned around started walking. As for Doomguy, he stood there, not moving. Home. Something he does not have in this dimension. God what's getting to him? The walls he's built around his heart centuries ago, are now being torn down by this boy. This dimension is starting to sink its teeth into him and he fears that it would interfere with his goal of revenge. He needed a way out.

Steven turned around to see Doomguy heading off to the beach. Curiously, he followed him. Wanting to know where he lived. As Doomguy started getting close to the water, he promptly sat down on the sand. There he sat staring off into the horizon, trying to get answers from it. Realization hit Steven when he noticed that Doomguy hadn't moved from his spot.

 _"He doesn't have a home?"_

He started berating himself. How could he forget that Doomguy wasn't from around here? He probably didn't have any money to afford a hotel room. He did it again, he abandoned his friend when he needed him the most.

 _"Just like Lapis..."_ Steven thought morosely.

Steven went over to Doomguy and sat down with him. He either didn't notice Steven's arrival or he didn't do anything about it. They both stared at the sunset coming down. Finally, Steven turned towards Doomguy.

"Sorry."

Silence graced them until Steven hugged him. Light sobbing came afterwards. Steven pulled his head back, allowing himself to breathe. He continued his apology.

"I should've known you didn't have a place to stay."

He didn't know what to say or what to do at this point. He never had to deal with someone's emotions for over a millennia and now he's being thrusted back into human interactivity. Was he so out of touch with emotions besides rage? Steven remained by his side until he seemed to have calmed down. 15 minutes had passed and he was still latched on to him, when he heard light snoring. He pulled out of Steven's grasp and saw that he had fallen asleep. He knew he had to get him back to his home, so he lifted Steven up and gently slung him over his shoulder. From the direction Steven was walking to earlier, he noticed a cliff with a giant statue carved out of it. It had multiple arms, some of which had fallen off from years of erosion. And it had holding in it's two hands, a wooden house.

He started his walk, carefully not wake up Steven. When he was halfway there, his HUD notified him of a small electromagnetic pulse that had passed over. This resulted in the street lamps going out and basically any electronic device was out of commission. He passed by a group of people who were talking to who appeared to be the leader of the place. He honestly can't take him serious, especially with that truck of his. When he finally reached the steps of the house, he noticed someone was standing in front of the doorway. Whoever this person is, was tall, practically his height. When he got closer, he recognized who it was.

Garnet stood in front of the doorway, waiting for Steven to return. She didn't expect to see him being carried by the armored man.

 _"At least he's clean now."_ Garnet thought.

There they stood, staring down at each other. Minutes passed until Doomguy moved Steven off his shoulder and carried him over to Garnet. She took Steven inside and tucked him into bed. When she came back outside, Doomguy was still there. Seeing that Steven was now in her care, he turned around to leave when a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"How about you stay over for the night? Hm?"

* * *

 **A/N: Jesus fuck. Took me a while to type this out. I wasn't planning on making the last bit of the chapter having a feels moment, but hey, whatevs. Anyways, I plan on doing weekly updates if I can. Now regarding the show's canon, it will change drastically, starting with The Return. Now to answer some reviews:**

 **Someguy(Guest): I get the same feeling as well when I see 1k words a chapter stories, but hey, hope this chapter long enough for you.**

 **Doomy Dooms(Guest): Hmm, I might. But it's been a while since I've gotten into anything Undertale related. Maybe someday...**

 **Guest 1: Well, here's more!**

 **Guest 2: Another chapter, my good sir?**


	3. Revelations

**Surprise update! Yeah, I wasn't expecting to be done with this chapter so early either. I might still post another chapter this week, most likely on Saturday. I know there's some of you guys that are just DYING for Doomguy to be put into a fight. SOON. Soon my children.**

* * *

"I just need to make adjustments to the disruptor, that's all!" Pearl shouted.

Pearl and Amethyst were currently arguing while on their way back to the temple. The robonoid disruptor that Pearl made, performed terribly. It was meant to interfere with the operation of Peridot's robonoids. But instead, it reactivated the salvaged robonoid they had and caused a wide-spread blackout in Beach City. Pearl was still adamant that with some adjustments, it would work. Amethyst however, didn't share the same consensus.

"It's never gonna work! You just don't want to admit it!"

Amethyst had grown tired of Pearl's obsession to being right all the time. Yes, everyone is frantically trying to find a way to fend off Peridot and whatever gem, Homeworld would send. But, what made her idea so special? It clearly didn't work and they would be wasting time trying to continue with her idea.

"IT WILL!" Pearl fired back. Tears were threatening to fall from Pearl's eyes.

"You don't understand how important this is to me!" Pearl added.

"Snap out of it, Pearl! All this is doing is wasting time!"

"It's just- I'm scared, Amethyst. Who knows how strong these new Homeworld gems are."

"WE'RE ALL SCARED, PEARL! YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE!" Amethyst couldn't believe how selfish Pearl was being right now when everyone was feeling the same way.

"I know… It's just.. the stress is just becoming too much for me to handle. I can't think straight and I'm worried for everyone… especially Steven." Pearl croaked out the last part of the sentence. The thought of Homeworld getting their hands on Steven was unbearable, since he has Rose's gem, he would either be killed.. or worse.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you, Amethyst. I'm just frustrated things aren't going the way they're supposed to. I'm.. sorry." Pearl stopped walking and looked away from Amethyst, knowing that she would still be mad at her. Instead, Amethyst grabbed a hold of Pearl's hand and turned Pearl towards her.

"Look, I'm also sorry for yelling at you too. But we need to stick together and not fight so much, if we're to ever be able to fight off Homeworld. For Steven." Amethyst said with finality.

A small smile grew on Pearl's face. She reciprocated the strength in Amethyst's grip.

"For Steven."

* * *

They arrived at the front steps of the temple; their argument having been resolved. However, their argument left them tired and in need of some rest. Pearl opened the door and went inside with Amethyst following behind her, to find that a green armored person was sitting on their couch. Naturally, they both brought out their weapons to be used against their intruder.

"Who are you and what are you doing here!?" Pearl ordered with her spear pointed at him.

Doomguy brought up his index finger to where his mouth was at and then pointed over at Steven's bed. A blue blush formed on Pearl's face, embarrassed for almost waking up Steven. She recomposed herself and leveled her spear at him again.

"I'm not going to ask again. Who are you and what are you doing here." Pearl said in a low voice.

Before anyone could do anything, Garnet walked in casually and tried to defuse the situation.

"It's okay, he's staying here for a while." Garnet said stoically.

"But who is he? I've never seen that type of armor anywhere!" Pearl said while trying to analyze the armor for a possible Homeworld connection.

"Perhaps, he can explain to us who he is. Isn't that right, Mr-" Garnet looked at him and noticed a name tag on his armor with Steven's handwriting.

"Doomguy." Garnet finished.

Doomguy could feel the stares on him as the Crystal Gems waited for him to speak. This is where isolationism will end up biting him in the ass. Before he could try an attempt to communicate, a familiar voice sprang to life.

"Oh? Where are we? The last recorded memory that I hold in my memory bank, you destroyed my core to open the third gate to Hell."

Silence permeated throughout the living room.

"In fact, how am I still active? I apologize if I am not as informative as I currently was before. Your praetor suit does not hold a sufficient energy source to power my full capabilities."

It was silent again until Amethyst spoke up.

"… Did that suit just talk?"

"Where are my manners? I am VEGA, an artificial intelligence unit created by the Union Aerospace Corporation."

"W-wait, 'opening a third gate to Hell'? What are you talking about?! Hell is just a made up human concept that deals with the afterlife! There is no Hell!" Pearl sputtered, getting worked up. She was starting to question the "intelligence" of VEGA when Garnet interrupted her.

"You two are not from around here, are you?" Garnet crossed her arms, waiting for an answer.

"It is difficult to say, I was only recently reactivated. But what I can gather from your companion's response, this is not our Earth."

Garnet hummed out a sound of curiosity.

" _This is very interesting indeed. But I wonder, why are they here?"_ Garnet thought to herself.

"So… are you guys time travelers or sumthin?" Amethyst drawled out.

"The UAC did not discover a form of time displacement. More likely, we are in a different dimension from ours."

"So why are you two here then?" Pearl questioned them.

"I… do not know the answer to that question. Very likely, this Doom Marine here was betrayed by Samuel Hayden, the head of the UAC." VEGA answered back.

"How?" Garnet asked.

"I am afraid that is not something I am at liberty to say. Our situation is very complex and delicate. And I would very much avoid angering the Doom Marine."

"If you two are to remain here, We must know." Garnet spoke with authority. Pearl and Amethyst shook their heads in agreement.

With no other choice, Doomguy shook his head with confirmation.

"Very well, this will take some few hours to finish."

"That's fine, we got all night." Garnet said.

Throughout the night, VEGA informed the gems on the history of the UAC; the discovery of argent energy; Samuel Hayden's contributions; the occultish activities of Olivia Pierce; the Hell invasion of Mars; and finally, Doomguy's involvement.

The sun rose over the horizon; the rays shone on Steven's face, as they entered the window next to his bed. His eyes lazily opened, to then close immediately as the light entered his vision. He then remembered the events that transpired yesterday and shot up straight. He quickly scanned the area around him, hoping Doomguy didn't leave or that it wasn't all a dream. His excitement soared when he found him sitting at the kitchen counter with the gems.

" _They finally met him!"_ Steven happily thought.

He was about to get out of his bed to greet them until upon closer inspection, he noticed how deep in thought the gems were. He also noticed how they kept glancing at each other, as though something was troubling them. He decided to simply listen in on their conversation from his bed.

After VEGA was done explaining them about their situation, they sat there in silence for 15 minutes, mulling over what was said. After a while, Garnet finally spoke.

"This... is troubling. What you're saying is-"

"WE HAVE TWO INVASIONS TO WORRY ABOUT!" Pearl covered her mouth in embarrassment from her outburst.

".. As I was going to say, we have to worry about a possible invasion from an enemy who we've never fought before-"

"All because of a mad scientist robot?" Amethyst finished.

"Yes, Amethyst."

"How did everything go so wrong? For humans to use such a dangerous form of energy?" Pearl put her hands up to her face as she languished.

"Humanity became desperate in finding alternative forms of fuel after fossil fuel and nuclear material became scarce. They saw the exploitation of Hell's resources as the only way to maintain their livelihoods." VEGA stated.

"No other way?" Pearl asked.

"No other way." VEGA answered.

The air in the room became very somber. Humanity cursed to open Pandora's Box. Doomguy could tell that just with him being here, he was already causing more problems for them down the road. More reason to get himself back to his dimension. Still, it sounds as though they're having troubles with their own invasion here and he'll be damned if he doesn't at least help.

Pearl wondered how could Doomguy do any of this by himself. It was obvious aside from VEGA's advice and tips, he doesn't receive help at all. "How is he able to do it? Keeping these.. demons at bay?"

"The Doom Marine always carries a sizable arsenal, from what I understand. He's also a quick learner in terms of learning the usage of a new weapon."

"So now what?" Amethyst pondered. They already knew about Doomguy's situation. So what happens now?

"We'll be needed all the help we can get, if we are to repel both invasions." Garnet stated, turning towards Doomguy.

"And we're asking if you could join us, temporarily if you want, to help us protect this Earth from both of these invasions. You know more than any of us, on how to properly deal with these demons."

"Plus, with you around, Homeworld will think twice before deciding to invade Earth again!" Amethyst cheered.

"So what do you say then? Will you help us?"

Doomguy looked at each of the gems, hope plastered on Amethyst's and Pearl's face with the exception of Garnet who maintained a stoic expression as always. He already contemplated on staying here and helping the gems on whatever problem they're going through until he found a way home. So for him, the answer was obvious. He nodded his head in acceptance.

Amethyst leaped at Doomguy, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "ALRIGHT! WE'RE NOT SCREWED!"

Steven gasped excitedly at the thought of going on missions with Doomguy. He didn't think the gems would react kindly to him, but it seems they're more than willing to have him join their side. Though, the mention of demons left him confused and worried.

" _Demons? Are they that dangerous?"_ Steven pondered about the implications of another threat to Earth.

First Homeworld and now demons? The way the demons were mentioned, they sounded very terrifying. Luckily, they have Doomguy who knows how to deal with them. He seems to know a lot about demons. Does he always run into them?

His thoughts were broken when he heard his stomach growl. _"Time for breakfast, I guess."_

Steven got up from his bed and stretched the stiffness out of his arms. He changed out of the clothing he wore yesterday and changed into a new shirt and a pair of pants. He silently walked down the stairs that lead from his "room" and headed towards the kitchen to eat.

Doomguy didn't expect Amethyst to trap him in such a tight grip and the longer it continued, the more he got uncomfortable. Garnet cleared her throat, seeing how uncomfortable the marine got. Amethyst promptly got off of him, blushing from embarrassment.

"Heh heh. Sorry, got out of control there for a bit." Amethyst said, rubbing the back of her neck.

Garnet then spoke up. "Where do you suppose these demons will most likely come from?"

"Argent plasma was discovered on Mars and where it was refined into argent energy. It was also where the UAC conducted their expeditions into Hell. Taking that into account, your Mars has the highest probability of a strong demonic presence being there." VEGA explained.

Pearl realized the obstacle in their plan. "How will we get to Mars? The galaxy warp pads were all destroyed!"

"We need someone who has the equipment to repair them. Unfortunately, there is one person who can, but we won't know for sure if she'll agree at all with our plan." Garnet said.

Pearl and Amethyst wondered who Garnet was referring to until Pearl figured out who she was talking about.

"HER?" Pearl retorted.

"Yes Pearl. Peridot."

Pearl was about to string out an argument with Garnet, when she saw Steven standing a few feet away from her. Nervously, the gems recomposed and pretended to act as though their whole conversation never happened.

"Steven! You're.. awake! We were just talking about-" Pearl was interrupted from her explanation when Steven spoke.

"I know what you guys were talking about. About the _other_ invasion." Pearl fidgeted while the nervous smile on Amethyst's face dropped.

"And, I know you guys want to look out for me. But I want to know what's going on all the time. No secrets, no sugarcoating. Just the truth." Steven looked at everyone sitting at the counter.

For a moment, no one said anything. Until Garnet got up and got down on eye level with Steven.

"Look, Steven." Garnet took an uneasy breath before speaking again.

"We were going up against Homeworld and we didn't know how to prepare ourselves for the inevitable." She paused to let her words sink into Steven.

"We still don't know what to prepare for, from Homeworld. But now, we're facing a new threat that we've never faced before and… I'm scared. We all are." Pearl and Amethyst casted their sights down, knowing Garnet was being absolutely right.

"Having to now face two threats and knowing everyone is counting on you to succeed… it places a heavy burden on you." Garnet finished softly.

"But we always figure things out eventually, right?" Steven innocently said. Garnet cast Steven a sad smile.

"Of course. This shouldn't be different then those other times." She knew that it was just hopeful thinking.

She doesn't know what will happen to them in the future, will they succeed or fail? The possible events she envisioned no longer exist and instead all she got was a vision from the distant future. Not something she takes solace in.

Steven gave Garnet a warm smile, which made her more guilty that she wasn't telling him the whole truth. Pearl stood up from her seat, tired from sitting there for hours.

"I should make you some breakfast. You're probably hungry right now." Pearl said to Steven who's stomach growled in response.

"Yeah, I should eat something." Said Steven.

Pearl went over to the refrigerator and opened its door to find that it wasn't cold. Confused, she went to the light switch off the kitchen to find that they were unresponsive.

"Hmm, strange. The effects of my disruptor should have worn off by now."

There was a frantic knocking at the door. Before anyone else could answer it, Doomguy got up and walked over to the front door. He opened it to find himself staring down towards Mayor Dewey.

"What's the big idea? Where's the po-" He stopped when he noticed Doomguy hulking over him.

"… I'll come back another time." Doomguy watched as Dewey scrambled down the stairs, stumbling a bit and going back into his van. He shook his head and went back inside the temple.

"Was it anyone important?" Pearl asked.

Doomguy shook his head in response. He sat on the couch, waiting for whatever else the gems will say.

Pearl went over to Garnet and Amethyst to have a discreet conversation. 2 minutes passed, Pearl went over to Doomguy.

"For now, we should see how you perform in combat. Since there aren't any corrupted gems to find at the moment, we should do a sparring match. Us three against you in a one-on-one match. What do you say?"

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 **Aaand CUT! There's chapter three. Sorry if it kinda feels that the story is going slow, but things will eventually ramp up. I promise or I'll buy you all milkshakes. Eh maybe not the milkshakes.**


	4. A Friendly Fight

**Told ya I would update today. Writing these chapters is getting really easy now. Just don't expect there to always be two updates a week. In regards to Doomy Dooms's review, I hope this chapter makes it clearer.**

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It felt.. different. Warping has a more soothing feeling to it. In contrast to using the UAC portals which felt like your flesh was being poked by thousands of molten needles. It was more chaotic and uncontrollable, due to its demonic nature. Warping felt like bathing in the waters of life itself. As if warping had healing properties.

He agreed to a sparring session with the gems, even though it was to gauge the way he fights and whether he needs improvement. There was one thing in the back of his mind though. He always fights to kill or at least maim his foes. Never to tire them out or to disarm them, they all ended up dead at his feet. He wasn't sure if he should hold back or show off his full strength. He didn't want to kill them, heavens no! But he didn't feel comfortable holding back. He always fought with his best and hardest.

Steven had went off to help Beach City with their power problem, while the gems and him were busy. It was crazy to think that Steven at his age, was involved with some sort of conflict from a foreign authority. It's ironic, thinking like this. Considering who he is, but it's not like he still remembers his childhood from eons ago anyways.

The two "gems", Amethyst and Pearl, he recalled their names, we're currently in a conversation about.. something. While the tall one, Garnet, he also recalled, was standing in place and not conversing like him. He still doesn't know what they are. They call themselves gems, but he had never come across a group of people like them at all. They're obviously very different from everyone else. What with their get up and mannerisms. Something didn't sit right with him, VEGA practically told them everything about their situation but they're very protective of any information about them. He would need to get to the bottom of this eventually.

They arrived at what appeared to be an ancient colosseum. There were clouds surrounding the area, making it appear as though the whole place was in the sky. Pearl stepped off the warp pad and faced the group.

"This is the Sky Arena! You're probably wondering how we acquired this magnificent place!" Pearl looked at Doomguy, waiting for a response. Silence only greeted her.

"You don't talk much, do you?" She mumbled, annoyed by his lack of response.

"Anyways!" She said with renewed vigor.

Pearl continued to talk while Doomguy kept thinking back to the conversation between the gems and VEGA. He thought it was somewhat ridiculous that they jumped to the conclusion that Hell would invade their dimension specifically, especially Pearl's reaction. But they couldn't be farther from the truth. There were various dimensions he traveled to that were ravaged by the forces of Hell. He doesn't know if those dimensions ever rebuilt afterwards, but he made sure they wouldn't be able to travel to other dimensions by killing all of the Subjugation Summoners; powerful summoners who can summon legions of demons into a dimension of their choosing. The only remote way of a demonic presence reach here was if something disturbed the argent resources on their Mars.

Pearl noticed the lack of attention Doomguy was giving her and promptly cleared her throat loudly.

"What I was saying..." She said with slight annoyance.

"Is that I should spar with you. Just to see how good your reflexes are."

Well this wasn't going to be easy. Garnet and Amethyst made their way to the spectator stands. Amethyst carried a sign that has a hastily drawing of Doomguy's helmet.

"We'll be observing your match here. Making note of your fighting style." Garnet said stoically. Amethyst started cheering and waving the sign above her head.

"Kick her butt, Doomguy!"

Annoyed, Pearl groaned at Amethyst's antics. She shook her head and focused on Doomguy.

"Are you ready?" Pearl said, spear pointed outwards and feet apart.

"I should warn you, I fought in a rebellion alongside a natural leader who personally trained me." She proudly stated.

Doomguy didn't know what to expect when she charged towards him at a blindingly fast pace, spear at the ready. Instinctually, he summoned his Super Shotgun, swung it towards her and fired both barrels. Her eyes widened before receiving the full blast of the weapon towards her face. A cloud of smoke blocked his vision before clearing away to a confusing sight to him. Instead of Pearl, lay an actual pearl on the ground, looking very much like the one on her head and it had a decent sized crack in it.

Amethyst felt her heart stop. There lay her friend, defeated in such a short time. She continued to stare at Pearl's gem while Garnet jumped down on to the arena floor. She walked over to Pearl's gem and picked it up, examining the crack. She then looked up at Doomguy.

"Next time, no weapons." There was a slight tremble to her voice. Did he really surprise her that much? What was he supposed to have done? This was a natural combat instinct to him and from what he heard, they fought against monsters of their own. Did they not use lethal force on them? What a ridiculous notion. It would be as if he were to take pity on the demons that tormented him.

Garnet went over to the warp pad and called out towards Amethyst who had been staring at the spot where Pearl's gem was.

"You can spar with him while I heal Pearl's crack. And don't worry, he won't be using his weapons this time." She said with assurance.

Garnet warped off to Rose's Garden while Amethyst turned towards Doomguy.

"No weapons, right?"

Doomguy shrugged. He was no martial artist by any means, but every blow he delivers has the strength to shatter bone. He took a boxer stance, while Amethyst brought out a whip from her gem.

"Hey Doomguy! No hard feelings, 'ight!"

Doomguy didn't know what she meant until she swung her whip towards him. He easily avoided it, only to end up on the receiving end of another whip. Amethyst decided to follow Pearl's advice of making a "strategy" before each battle. Her plan was to distract Doomguy with one whip and use another on him while he's distracted. Ensuring that he's under a constant barrage of whiplashes.

It all fell apart when Doomguy decided to take the lashings and storm his way towards her. Amethyst was shocked to see how fast he was moving, she didn't think that with his armor, he could move really fast. She almost received a fist to the head when she was within range of his fists. Her head snapped away from the speeding fist, which ended up colliding with the pillar behind her, causing it to completely crumble. Doomguy immediately double jumped into the air and landed on top of a pillar, avoiding the whip that was swung at him.

Doomguy jumped towards Amethyst, as her whip made contact with the pillar, shattering it. As he began to fall, he positioned himself to crush Amethyst. Amethyst saw this and dashed to the side as he crashed into the ground, leaving a crater behind. Doomguy never gave Amethyst a chance to breathe when he went after her immediately after landing. She didn't have enough time effectively defend herself, so she ran.

Sweat dripped down Amethyst's face. She hadn't exerted herself this much in a fight and it was taking a toll on her. She was growing tired, her breathing became erratic and her legs were becoming strained. She managed to muster enough energy into her legs to somewhat outrun Doomguy for a bit. She found cover behind rubble that was suitable enough for her to hide behind. As she hid behind the debris, she could hear the sounds of pillars being toppled by Doomguy. Most likely, trying to find her.

" _HOW IS HE NOT TIRED! I JUST WANT THIS TO BE OVER WITH!"_ She didn't understand how was Doomguy not tired. Was it the suit he wore? Did it give him unlimited stamina? She could sure use something like that now.

Just then the sounds of destruction stopped. There was only silence. Amethyst could hear her heart pounding from the anxiety. She brought her legs together, trying to make herself as small as she can. Minutes passed, there was still no sign of Doomguy. She guessed he probably gave up his search and went off somewhere. A smile creeped up on her face.

" _Perfect."_ She thought devilishly. She brought out two whips and stood up to see where Doomguy is. Only to find herself staring eye-to-eye with him when she got up.

Amethyst uncharacteristically shrieks in surprise, stumbling backwards. She swings her whips at Doomguy, hoping the close distance would catch him off guard. Instead, he grabs a hold of both whips and swings Amethyst into the nearest wall. He swings Amethyst into another wall and then another. Amethyst's grip on the whips was weakening, her head ached and her vision blurred.

She finally lets go of the whips, while she was currently in mid-air. Taking a hold of the whips, Doomguy swings them towards Amethyst, the whips wrapping around her torso. Using all of his might, he sends her crashing into the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air. The whips disappear in a puff of smoke from his hands, forgetting that they were Amethyst's. He switches his attention to the area of impact and sees Amethyst lying limp in a giant crater.

She laid there for a bit before her body disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind her gem. He walks towards the crater, anticipating if this was just a ruse. He stood before her gem, gazing at it. He thinks back to when it happened to Pearl and wonders why they do that. He already suspected that they weren't human when he saw them, but this was something he never saw before. It didn't seem practical that they would recede back into these gems when heavily injured. They would be at the mercy of their enemies when it happens.

He picks up Amethyst's gem, somewhat admiring how it gleams in the sunlight. He isn't sure if she would need to be healed like Pearl. Thinking back to the match between Pearl and him, he thought about the way Garnet reacted to the power behind the Super Shotgun. What was that about? Does she not know that his weapons were made to kill? The idea of using a weapon to merely subdue an enemy, almost made him scoff. How would they be able to fend off this "Homeworld", if they don't plan on eradicating the enemy? He was starting to get the feeling that they weren't taking their threat as seriously as he thought they did.

The sound of the warp pad being used, came to his attention. He turned around and saw Pearl and Garnet. Pearl had a horrified look on her face, she did not expect to come back to a heavily damaged arena.

"WHAT HAPPENED HERE!?" Pearl yelled lividly.

She went over to each damaged area of the arena to hysterically mumble about the possibility of fixing everything. Meanwhile, Garnet approached Doomguy, looking stoic as ever.

"Where's Amethyst?"

Doomguy held out his hand, revealing Amethyst's gem. Garnet quickly took it from him, examining for any cracks. Seeing none, she looks back towards Doomguy.

"I wasn't expecting you to force Amethyst back into her gem, but at least she's okay for now." Garnet glanced at Amethyst's gem for a final time before going over to Pearl and handing her the gem.

Pearl glanced at Doomguy, a nervous look on her face when she does.

" _Amethyst.. forced back into her gem? How? And with no weapons?"_ She couldn't imagine how Doomguy would be in an actual combat scenario.

Garnet made her towards Doomguy, summoning her gauntlets. She put on a confident smile, pushing away the image of Pearl getting defeated by a mere blast from his weapon.

"Alright." Garnet said, lifting her gauntlets into a stance.

"Let's do this." She rushed towards Doomguy, giving him no warning.

Doomguy felt a surge of power run through him. It filled his very being with the desire to battle. A voice inside his suit spoke to him.

" _After reviewing your armor's ability to absorb the argent energy cells, I am able to replicate the effects of the 'berserk' stimulate using the argent reserves in your praetor suit. However, it has to be recharged after each use, so as to not completely drain your suit. So be sure to use it to the best of your abilities."_ VEGA stated, using the in-helmet speakers.

Garnet cocked back her fist gauntlet, seeing as Doomguy only stood there doing nothing. As she swung her gauntlet towards him, he met her fist with his own. Their fists collided, causing a shockwave to reverberate throughout the arena. Pearl watched with awe as the two combatants parried blow after blow. They stood at a stalemate, neither able to gain the upperhand over the other.

Doomguy decided to break the stalemate by delivering a push kick to her chest. Garnet blocked the kick with her gauntlets, leaving an opportunity for Doomguy to deliver a right hook to her face. Her visor shattered, revealing a face of bewilderment. Doomguy managed to deliver a left hook before she jumped back from him. Garnet materialized another visor over her face while shrinking her gauntlets down to a more agile size.

"I gotta admit, you surprised me with that move." She opened her mouth to say more, when Doomguy rushed towards her.

She dodged a fist and blocked another one, before jumping back again, giving space between Doomguy and her.

"Hey now. We're just having a little chit chat, right?" She said lightheartedly.

Doomguy became confused. Isn't this supposed to be a sparring session? To gauge his combat skills? Garnet lightly chuckled at his confusion.

"Its fine. You've shown how much you're capable of fighting and you exceeded my expectations." She walked closer to him. Her expression became serious once again.

"However." She said, the lightheartedness gone from her voice.

"I did notice your weapon's… lethality from your match with Pearl and I do feel obligated to give you a warning." Garnet crossed her arms, making herself authoritive.

"If we come across any corrupted gems or any Homeworld gems. You are to **not** shatter them. This is not as if you are fighting any of your demons. These are people with real emotions. Do not blame them for Homeworld's indoctrination."

The seriousness in her voice went away when she looked at Pearl with a recently reformed Amethyst. Pearl was in the middle of scolding Amethyst for further damaging the Sky Arena during her match, when Garnet called the both of them over. Garnet looked back towards Doomguy, looking unfazed by her warning.

"But we're cool otherwise. Now let's head back to the temple."


End file.
